Part 1. Cinemalaya Vibe

(staple the ticket)

Write your own personal reflection about the whole Cinemalaya Festival experience . What can you say about the growing public interest in independent films? How is this similar/different with the mainstream film viewing public/scene? Describe the Cinemalaya Vibe. How do you feel about this? How do you find the Philippine independent films? How is the experience helpful in your appreciation with art in general? Include selfies while attending the festival. (700 words)

Director: Reis Celiks

REFLECTION:

Upon entering the movie theatre, I was so amazed that most of the viewers were students like me. It is nice to know that there are a lot of people, especially the young ones, who are interested in watching independent films. As a young boy, I have always had an interest in these kinds of festivities, especially every time i went with my Dad during his indie film shoots when he used to be “The Big Boss” of such films like Transit, Kabisera, and Kid Kulafu to mention a few, providing all the utilities and expenses as a managing partner / producer since he is in the advertising and film production industry. Also, i was able to relate these kinds of movies to my brother since he is in the cinematography and film production industry as well tasked to do steadicam operations.

I like watching independent films since unlike the mainstream movies, Indie films portray real life situations and somewhat show the history of the country where the film was made or the subject the film is trying to tackle.

This experience helped me further appreciate the history of independent films. It just shows how good and passionate our filipino artists, directors, producers and other staffs of the cinemalaya festival as well as the international artists and directors are. I was also able to observe that some people who watch these kinds of movies get bored or uneasy because of the setting or location and the drama the movie is plotting into, its probably because independent films tackle very complex issues where one should have deep focus in order to grasp or understand what the movie is trying to show. Honestly, sometimes i don’t get what the movie is trying to portray, more so when they are international films just like the movie i watched which was “The Night of Silence”. This is mainly because i get easily distracted when i don’t understand certain parts of the film. It was even more difficult since the film was in turkish, even though there was a subtitle it was still difficult to understand since there were numerous grammatical errors. Although i had a hard time focusing and staying with the flow of the movie, in a sense, i believe that i still captured the message of the movie.

Furthermore, i was able to observe that these kinds of movies are very influential to people. As i have stated earlier, most independent films show true life events and situations. More importantly, it shows the culture of people from different parts of the globe. Independent films are beautiful works of art since we see what happens in the everyday lives of people. Indie films are appreciated by less people because it requires deep understanding and you should be able to watch it scene by scene in order for you to be able to understand and focus throughout the whole film. Unlike the mainstream films like the Star Cinema productions or Viva films, their movies are “Pang Masa” or it may somehow be suitable for all audiences. Almost all of the viewers would understand the story because of the easy flow of the movie and it is more appealing to most of the people who watch such films because of the setting of the movies they play and they are able to use popular artist/s that makes it even more exciting to the people who watch such films.

The Cinemalaya vibe was extraordinary, the ambiance was really nice and smooth, Ushers were very approachable and accommodating as well. They led us to our seats and were very friendly, hospitable and organized. The experience was very exciting. After the event, i was very proud of the directors and artists because it showed that they truly worked hard in order for the film and the Cinemalaya festival itself to be a success. This shows that Filipino indie films can now be compared to international films.

Overall, it was a very fun and exciting experience for me. By watching these kinds of films, i think that i have learned numerous lessons that i can apply in my everyday life. A lot of morals can be taken from these kinds of movies since they show the struggle that each person goes through in the world we live in.